Apprehensive about First Wash & Wax

MMXI's Avatar
MMXI MMXI is offline
1st Gear
iTrader: 0% (0)

Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Posts: 36
Gallery
Apprehensive about First Wash & Wax
So many of the cars I see have nasty scratch swirls. Do they come from using "the wrong" wash cloths? What is the best material to use so that the finish remains pristine? Also, please advise on a good and not over-priced wax. Finally, a lot of black dust seems to collect on the exhaust pipes. Is this normal for a brand new MINI? OH, and what about keeping the wheels clean. While it may seem that I am new to car maintenance, I am not. I am, however, new to "best MINI appearance." Thanks in advance for your replies.
__________________

Quote:
So many of the cars I see have nasty scratch swirls. Do they come from using "the wrong" wash cloths?


Answer from the moderator of the forum.

OctaneGuy OctaneGuy is offline
Vendor & Moderator :: MINI Camera and Video & c3 club forum
iTrader: 100% (4)

The question is...where do swirls come from?
The answer is..from touching your car.


The #1 best way is nearly touchless using a high powered pressure washer and a foam cannon along with good quality soap such as Meguiar's Hyper Wash..not the touchless found at the local car wash that uses high pH soaps.



re: Wax
What is overpriced to you? $25? $50? $10,000?
A good wax will offer excellent protection, great looks, and ease of use. You should choose a natural or synthetic wax based on the color of your paint. Darker paints look great with a carnauba or synthetic. White or silver paints look best with synthetics. Prima Epic is a great wax that offers a rich look that's durable and easy to use and runs about $23 for a bottle that will last for years.


quote:
re: Wax
What is overpriced to you? $25? $50? $10,000?
A good wax will offer excellent protection


THIS IS NOT TRUE, BUT WHO CARES. IT SOUNDS GOOD.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2011 11:42PM by billd55.

Bill :
I agree that the advice sounds questionable at best. To really get the car clean, I have always had to touch it with a boar's hair brush, a cotton towel, a wash mitt or something. I don't believe these washing tools scratch the paint unless dirt becomes trapped in them and moved around.

I've never tested Prima Epic wax because I pretty well settled on Zaino products.

I'm betting that no Carnauba wax will outshine Zaino on any color of car and Carnauba waxes, in my experience, don't last as long as Zaino and are vulnerable to harsh commercial car wash soap ; One trip through a tunnel wash trashed a coat of Meguiar's #26 that I had applied.

Towels made of coarse polyester can scratch. It pays to use high-quality cotton or microfiber. I noticed on their site that Zaino is now selling towels...